Fire extinghuisher



May 8, 1923.

W. S. TIFFANY FIRE EXTI JUISHER Filed Dec.

21. 1917 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w. s. Y

FIRE BXTINGUISHER Filed Dec. 21 17 .2 Slneecs-She 2 v Patented May 8,1923.

PATENT FICE.

WILLIAM s. TIFFANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, assienon or OZNE HALF r E. r.

MOMORRAN,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

rmn nx'rmoursnnn.

' Application filed December 21, 1917. Serial 1T0. 208,240.

To all whom it may concm;

Bexit knownthat I, WILLIAM S. TIFFANY, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire extinguishers of the type adapted to be operated by inverting the extinguisher, and particularly to that class adapted to generate a large quantity of lingering foam, and to discharge the same upon the fire upon inversion of the extinguisher.

Extinguishers of this general character have heretofore been employed in which an inner receptacle containing one of the foam and. pressure producing constituents Was located within the tank andprovided with aloose stopper adapted to drop by gravity from the receptacle when the extinguisher was inverted, thus permitting the contents of the receptacle to mingle with the contents of the tank. These extinguishers, however, have been subject to severe criticism because of the tendency of the liquid slop over and mingle with the tank-contents whenever the extinguisher is moved, even if it is not inverted, and this objection is particularly forcible where the extinguishers are subject to shocks and board, for instance.

One ofv the primary objects of my present invention is to provide an extinguisher in which the contents of the inner receptacle will be effectually and permanently sealed so that no movement of the extinguisher, no matter how violent, will cause a commingling of the liquids contained in the receptacle and the tank respectively.

Another feature of my invention resides in the provision of simple and effective means for breaking the seal of the inner receptacl whenever itmay be desirable to use quick movements as on shipthe extinguisher, but my invention is so designed that the breaking of the seal does not destroy the receptacle itself, with the result that the receptacle may be repeatedly used by simply applying a new seal after each use of the extinguisher. v j

A further feature consists in the provision of an efi'ective seal for the extinguisher tankitself which will preclude leakage of the tank contents and will also preclude corrosion of provided with a flange the seal-breaking instrumentality and its surrounding parts which might cause the seal-breaking device to stick or become inoperative even if the device were not entlrely destroyed by the acid.

St ll another object of my invention is to provlde a seal for the discharge opening of the tank which will prevent slopping over of the tank contents when the receptacle is moved or transported, this sealing device, however, being automatic and gravity-actuated, so that when the tank is inverted an unobstructed openin for the discharge of the tank contents wi 1 be permitted.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionshould be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by' reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. 'Referring to'the draw- Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing another form of the invention; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating other embodiments of the invention; and v Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing still another form of the invention.

' Referring to the drawings, the extinlisher comprises the usual tank 7 which, in t e present instance, is shown in the form of a cylinder provided with a hose connection 8, a hose 9, equipped with a nozzle 11,

the discharge opening in the hose connection being protected by a strainer 12. The top of the tank is provided with a collar 13 exteriorly threaded to receive the closin cap 14, which closes the tank except at $1105 times as it is removed for purposes of re- I charging the extinguisher.

Referring now more particularly tov Fig. 1, it will be observed that the flexible diaphragm 15 is disposed between the upper end of the collar 13 and the cap 14, so that it-is firmly clamped in position around its margin to provide an efli'ect'ual seal forthe tank. A plunger 16 projects through a central aperture in the diaphragm,

or washer 17, soldered'or otherwise fixedly secured thereon, and'an upper washer 18 which is threaded this plunger being onto the plunger from its upper end, so that the diaphragm 15 is firmly clamped between these washers 17 and 18 to provide an efiectual seal around the plunger. The upper nd of the plunger is equipped with a-cap 19, and the plunger is normally held in the elevated position shown in Fig. 1 byaspir'al expansion spring 21 disposed between the tank top and the cap 19.

Within the tank there isdisposed areceptacle 22 adapted. tov contain one of the liquids which is mixed with the liquid in the tank proper when the extinguisher is to be used. This receptacle 22, preferably constructed of metal, rests at its lower end in the form shown in Fig. 1, upon the bottom of the tank and extends upwardly centrally within the tank. The upper end of the receptacle is threaded exteriorly, as indicated at 23, to receive theseal-holding device 24, adapted to be threaded onto the upper end of the receptacle. 'This'device has an inwardly extending marginal flange adapted to overlie the margin of a frangible seal 25 made of glass, celluloid .or other frangible material, so that this seal is firmly clamped against the upper end of therecept'acle-to effectually seal the same and prevent the liquid in the receptacle from slopping over or mixing with' the liquid in the tank so long as the seal remains unbroken.

ecured to the seal-holding device 24 is a frame 26 which extends upwardly above the receptacle into the throat of the tank and serves to retain the receptacle in proper po sition in the tank. /Vhen the'seal 25 is tobe renewed the frame 26, being rigidly secured to the seal-holding device 24, turns therewith relatively to the receptacle when the seal-holding device is unscrewed from and again screwed onto the receptacle. The lower end of the plunger 16 is equipped with a seal-breaking device 27 preferably comprising a plurality of breaking-points 28, which are adaptedto pierce and break the seal 25 when the plunger is forced downwardly against the seal by pressure exerted upon the outer cap 19.

In order to prevent slopping and overflowing of the liquid in the tank when the extinguisher is moved about, the hose coupling 8 is shaped, as shown in Fig. 1, to provide a vertically extending portion 29 adapted to receive a ball 31 which is slightly larger than the discharge opening from the tank so that when the extinguisher is in the upright position shown in Fig. 1 this ball will seat against and close the discharge opening. thereby preventing slopping or overflowing of the liquid. The vertical portion 29 is preferably open at its upper end and provided with a closing cap 32 which retains the ball in place but may be removedin order to permit the insertion of the ball when the device is. assembled. A lateral menace the hose connection proper permits the discharge of the tank contents into the hose 9 when the extinguisheris inverted; and when in inverted position the ball 31 drops by gravity into the outer end of the vertical portion 29, so that it is disposed outsidethe stream of outflowing liquid and does not retard'or' interfere with the outflow.

W hen the device is to be charged the cap 14 is removed, thereby ermittiug the receptacle 2 2 with its attac' edframe26 to be lifted out ofthe tank, whereupo n a suitable quantity of a desired solution may be poured into the tank. This tank solution preferably consists of proper proportions ofwater, sodium bicarbonate, and soapwort. orsaponaria, adapted to produce a foam. The inner receptacle 22 is then charged either bewith a solution consisting, preferably, of

requisite proportions of water and aluminum sulphate. The seal 25 is then placed overthe top of thereceptacle and clamped in position by screwing down the seal-holding device 24 The cap 14 carrying the diaphragm and the seal breaking plunger, is then threaded onto the upper end of the tank whereupon the apparatus is ready. for use, and when required may be set in operation by simplymanipulating the plunger so as to break the seal and then inverting the extinguisher. In actual practice, the placing of the extinguisher on thefioor ininverted position will cause the seal to be broken so that the contents of the receptacle 22 are permitted to mix with the contents removed longitudinally through the mouth In this instance the seal-clamping device 24 is not attached to the cage or frame but simply threads onto the upper end of the receptacle. In the form shown in Fig. 1 the frame or cage 26 serves to supportthe receptacle 22 when'the'apparatusis inverted and, likewise, in the form shown inFig. 2 the cage 35 performs the same function, and in order to prevent the receptacle 34 from longitudinal movement upon inversion of the apparatus one or more of the side members of the cage 35 is bent inwardly as indicated at 37 near the top of the receptacle to closely embrace the same and thereby hold the rece tacle against longitudinal movement. lh Fig. 2 the plunger 38 is made in two parts, one of which has a tapped bore to receive a threaded extension 39 of the other part, and

of the outer receptacle between the lugs 36. 1

this extension is inserted through the diaphragm and the two clamping washers whereupon the other portion of the plunger isscrewed onto the extension, thereby firmly clamping the Washers and the diaphragm between the two parts of. the plunger so as to roduce an effective seal.

n Fig. 3 I have shown, in lieu of the sealing diaphragm previously described, a stuffing box 41 which prevents'leakage around the plunger 42, and leakage around the cap is prevented by a gasket 43 clamped between the upper end of the tank collar and the cap proper.

In Fig. 4 the plunger 44 also passes through a stufiing box 45 similar to the stufling box 41, but in this instance the plunger is moved longitudinally by reason of the screw-threaded connection between the upper portion of the plunger and a boss 46 projecting up I wardly from the cap. This construction is positive in operation, precludes accidental breaking of the seal, and eliminates the use of an upper cap and spring.

'In Fig. 5 I have shown a construction in Which the diaphragm is imperforate. A plunger 47 operates above the diaphragm in the manner previously described. Below the diaphragm in a guide 48 carried by the cage or frame 49, I have mounted a second-plumger 51 carrying at its lower end the sealbreaking device and normally held in the upper pos tion shown in Fig. 5 by an expansion spring 52. When the apparatus is to be operated downward pressure of the plunger 47, transmitted through the diaphragm to the plunger 51, will effect the breaking of the seal. It should be understood that the different embodiments shown in Figs. 3, 4,

and '5 relate merely to the seal-breaking plunger and that the inner receptacles and their manner of support may be of any preferred form. For instance, in Figs. 3 and 5 I have shown a construction similar to that shown in Fig. 1 while in Fig. 4 the cage or frame 53 is connected to the inner receptacle just be-- low the screw-threaded neck.

of th flange or ledge 61. The receptacle 58 in this In Fig. 6 the plunger 54 passes through the diaphragm '55 and the diaphragm is clamped between the lower washer 56, which is soldered onto the plunger, and an upper washer 57 which is of the split ring type adapted, when moved into position, to snap into notches provided in the plunger, as

shown. The receptacle 58 being designed in this instance to contain a liquefied gas under high pressure,is smaller in size than those previourly shown and is supported in a cage 59 SHSPt'IlClBd at its upper end in the mouth e tank upon an inwardly projecting instance is also provided with a frangible seal 62 which is clamped in position by a plug or nut 63 threaded into a collar 64 pro-- vided on the upper end of the receptacle. Instead of having the discharge opening at the top of the receptacle the discharge pipe in this instance is equipped with an extension a 65 which projects substantially to the oppo-, site end of the tank,'where it is supported by a bracket66 and is equipped with a screen 67, as will be readily understood.

It should be obvlous from the foregoing that I have provided a fire extinguisher which is simple in construction, can be readseal does not leave a quantity of glass in the extinguisher as the breaking of a glass bottle or vial, such as previously used does.

While I have shown and described those embodiments of my'invention which at the present time seem preferable, it should be understood that various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:.

1. ,In a fire extinguisher, the combination of a tank, a cap therefor, a plunger projectmeans for preventing ing through said cap, the escape of liquid around said plunger, a

receptacle disposed within the tank, a fran gible seal for the receptacle, means for detachably holding said seal in position, and means connected with said holding means andengaging the mouth of said tank for holding said receptacle in position.

2. In a fire extinguisher, the combination of a tank, a cap therefor, a plunger project: ing through the cap, meansfor preventing the escape of liquid around the plunger, a receptacle disposed within the tank, a frangible seal'for said receptacle, a holding device having threaded engagement with the receptacle for holding said seal in position. and means connected tosaid holding device and movable therewith and removable from the tank with said device for maintaining said receptacle in position in the tank.

' WILLIAM S. TIFFANY. 

